The Sea Heaven Mansion on Gulangyu: Wearing a 'Western Suit' with a 'Chinese-style Hat'

We have seen the grandeur and luxury of the 'Number One Villa' in Huang Family Garden, where the Western-style garden houses still retain the symmetrical central axis of the Chinese layout; there is also the Rong Valley Villa designed by Li Qingquan after the European and American aristocratic manors, which still embodies the Chinese philosophy of life that 'greatness lies in tolerance'. Thus, we have observed a phenomenon: when this group of hardworking and business-savvy Minnan Chinese who have lived abroad return to settle in Gulangyu, they bring back not only considerable wealth but also foreign architectural forms and styles. However, this fusion of architecture seems to have one thing in common: it always retains traditional Chinese architectural elements. Today, these stylistic elements are either superimposed on the Chinese style or added to the fusion of both with a Western 'seasoning'. But it is just like the Chinese inherent philosophy of 'moderation' in life. If Gulangyu is a paradise of Sino-Western architecture, then one of the dazzling pearls in this paradise is undoubtedly the Sea Heaven Mansion. Legendary Architecture: Five buildings each with its own character, Sino-Western fusion highlights the grandeur of the Sea Heaven Stepping into No. 38 Fujian Road, a stately Chinese-style gatehouse appears before us, with four bold and thick characters inscribed on its plaque: Sea Heaven Mansion. What is the Sea Heaven Mansion? 'Mansion' here means house, and by naming it 'Sea Heaven', the builders wanted to express the majestic style of the building. In fact, this group of buildings with a clear Sino-Western fusion style does live up to this grand name. Passing through the Chinese gatehouse, a grand courtyard-style plaza comes into view. This plaza is about 700 square meters, and standing in the center of it, one can see that the Sea Heaven Mansion consists of five three-story buildings, with the central building as the core, distributed in a symmetrical axial pattern. A central axis runs through the entire plaza and the complex, reflecting the cultural characteristics of Chinese architectural style. Looking around, the entire complex is majestic and grand, said to cover a total area of 6,500 square meters. In fact, each of the five buildings has a distinct style, and each embodies the artistic qualities and styles of both Chinese and Western architecture. However, looking at the overall structure of the Sea Heaven Mansion, it reveals the characteristics of Sino-Western fusion: the overall style is an imitation of ancient large-roofed palace buildings, while the layout is the peripheral corridor style from overseas, but the interior is Chinese, with the traditional central symmetrical pattern. Among them, the central building of the Sea Heaven Mansion (now No. 38 Fujian Road) must be mentioned, as it is a representative of the Sino-Western architecture on Gulangyu. As the core building and visual center of the Sea Heaven Mansion, looking from the courtyard, the surrounding corridor with square columns is uniformly built with fair-faced red bricks and white mortar joints, exuding the elegance and nobility of ancient Greek columns. But the most striking feature is the Chinese-style large hip-and-gable roof on top of the entire building and the small double-eaved, four-cornered spire roof on top of the front porch. It is like a signature Chinese 'big hat' placed on top of a 'Western body' building. In the architectural details of the Sea Heaven Mansion, there are many unique Sino-Western eclectic innovations: using concrete to imitate ceramics, stone, and wood, creating many traditional through-carved floral components that would normally require stone and wood materials, then decorating them on wing corners, brackets, and even door lintels, railings, etc., presenting a different kind of beauty. ..Gulangyu, a must-visit spot on Xiamen's Gulangyu